Anton's Key

Anton's Key was a genetic modification that afflicted Julian 'Bean' Delphiki and four of his nine children. One who had this was said to have "Anton's Key turned." The genetic modification caused gigantism, extremely high intelligence and a virtually unlimited capacity for learning. Both were caused by a slow, but constant and unstoppable growth from birth of both body and, more remarkably, brain. Children with Anton's Key turned were born prematurely, and, despite low birth weight and shorter gestation period, did not require any extra attention as most premature babies do. All of the normal human growth milestones were accelerated, including, but not limited to, toilet training, walking, talking and puberty (except for the growth spurt).

As the child grew, the immense size of the body caused circulation difficulties for the heart. The heart was forced to pump blood through a network of arteries and veins much larger than the average human's network. In the process, the subject would eventually experience congestive heart failure, causing death. As a result, persons in whom Anton's Key has been turned typically did not live past their twentieth birthday.

The scientist who discovered it was placed under a mental ban so that others would be unable to replicate his work; however, Volescu did get a hold of the information and created Bean.